April 8, 2024 • 29 mins
Discover the world of musky fishing with Jake Nelson, an insider with Flambeau Forest Outfitters, Lake X, and Elk River, in another insightful episode of Team Rhino Outdoors Musky Fishing Podcast. Get a deeper understanding of Lake X's operations and future, and explore the high-quality products and the little known Elk River story. Delve into the intricacies of muskie fishing gear, water conditions, and effective baiting techniques. Explore the musky landscape of Wisconsin, guided by Nelson's company, Flambeau Forest Outfitters.
In this episode, enjoy a lively discussion about the use of big baits and their effectiveness. The thrill of casting cannonballs and grabbing that elusive musky will be unveiled as we shed light on the right bait sizes, types, and movement. Know more about Elk River fishing rods, the meticulous process of their creation, and the excellent customer service that ensures you keep coming back for more. This podcast is a treasure trove for anyone enthusiastic about navigating the waters of big bait fishing.
If you are an angler or aspire to be one, this podcast has something insightful and interesting for you. Step into the world of fishing, find out the advantages of various fishing gear, and learn how to enhance your own fishing experience. Tune in to this exciting episode!
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Music.
(00:05):
Welcome to Muskie Talk Monday on Team Rhino Outdoors Muskie Fishing Podcast.
This week I'm going to talk to Jake Nelson, Flambeau Forest Outfitters, Lake X, Elk River.
He's a man of many hats. He's involved with all those things and we're going
to learn a little bit about all of it this week.
Talk a little bit, I mean, the update on Lake X is, you know,
people are wondering what's going on with them and are they still in business and things like that.
(00:29):
And we'll answer all those questions on this episode. So, and then,
uh, we're, you know, we're going to go down the elk river thing because elk
river is a new, they're not new rod company. They're a new rod company to us.
And they've been around for a while. You know, we, we had some,
we carried some of their stuff or listed some of their stuff on our website,
probably, I don't know, four or five years ago.
(00:50):
And they're back, you know, and for good reason, they're, they're great rods, another great option.
And we're, we're looking to add more and more of that stuff.
As we move forward we're looking to be your one-stop
muskie fishing destination for all the
gear that you need to catch muskies and at this point though we still understand
we have work to do so you know putting on our tool belt and which i i know i'm
(01:12):
familiar with the tool belt and so we're putting on a tool belt we're getting
to work and you know we won't stop until we are that one-stop muskie fishing
destination so that's kind of what's.
On tap for this week's Muskie episode, just talking gear. That's what we do on this podcast.
I've said it before. If you're looking for to break down new water and talk
(01:34):
to the latest and greatest guides and what's going on in the water,
we'll talk that on Backlash Podcast,
which I do with my friends Brad and Kerry from Muskie Mayhem Tackle.
And we do that one every single Wednesday.
And you can find it on all these same platforms that you find this podcast.
And you know but moving forward this summer i mean
i certainly plan to continue to put out episodes of this podcast and
(01:54):
what we'll do is we'll talk about what's working on the water what baits are
working but it's still going to be revolving mostly around gear we'll
talk to you know the guides on on gear wise what's
working i won't necessarily break down you know which weed beds or how
deep they are or whatever we'll just talk about you know what's putting
fish in the net and then so that's kind of how that's going to roll
moving forward i hope to make this a continual thing i
(02:15):
don't even know i think this is probably week six seven that
i put a podcast out in a row which i've never done before on this podcast
so it's the exciting times for the team rhino
outdoors musky fishing podcast you know if you like us
tell a friend you know let people know that this is
something that we're doing just a little bit different shorter episodes
you know most episodes are somewhere between 20 minutes and 40
(02:36):
minutes so if you're you know doing a quick workout you
know pop one of these episodes on and and listen to it
during your your uh weekly workout or your daily
workout or however you want to go about doing that and it
again you know if you're looking for gear for your next muskie
fishing adventure make sure you check out team rhino outdoors.com we
you know i talked about earlier we're continuing to push the boundaries as
(02:57):
far as how much inventory we've had and you know this it's springtime so we're
gearing up right i mean many seasons are just around the corner the southern
wisconsin season i think by the time you hear this is only only roughly three
weeks maybe four weeks at the most out and so you know it's coming quick april is the.
Last month you have to try to put those final touches on your boats and your
(03:18):
gear and make sure that things are in tip-top shape before we get cranking.
So it's pretty cool, exciting times for musky anglers as everybody looks forward to a new season.
But anyways, I'm going to go dial up my conversation I just had with Jake Nelson.
My guest this week is Jake Nelson, Flambeau Forest Outfitters and Lake X Lures.
(03:41):
I know jake isn't necessarily like the
owner of lake x but uh jake you're
very instrumental in what comes out
of the lake x shop these days from what i understand and thank you for coming
on today hi jeff and yeah thank you very much we we do as much as we can yeah
well i mean obviously we all know like your lake x is a small business family
(04:06):
ran business friend ran business essentially because I'm assuming that you're not related to John,
but you're, you know, involved in his operation.
And, you know, like sometimes priorities change and things shift a little bit.
So, you know, I just want to have you on. First of all, we'll talk a little bit about Lake X today.
We'll talk a little bit about Elk River because you're involved in that as well.
(04:26):
But first, Jake, before we go down any of those roads, let's talk a little bit
about Flambeau Forest Outfitters. Why don't you give us a quick,
you know, introduction to that?
Because not only are you into muskies, but you're also into some hunting stuff too.
Yeah, I've had Flambeau Forest Outfitters since 2003 and basically started muskie
fishing with or started out guiding muskies and then got into bear hunting.
(04:50):
We don't really do a whole lot of that anymore, but one of our bigger things
is upland bird hunting too.
So it's kind of in the area that we live in it's just it's a you know we're
in the grouse capital of the world
here and and people from all over the world and and all over the U.S.
Come to hunt and if people are listening to this podcast and they're into hunting
(05:13):
well how do they go about getting in touch with you or learning more about what you have to offer.
I guess the best way to get ahold of me is on Facebook messenger or a lot of
people just text me, which I'll give you my phone number later,
but we're in the middle of nowhere here.
So cell service is terrible and it's hard to get back to people right away.
(05:34):
And, and that's kind of the way it goes, I guess, living in the North.
Sure. Yeah, absolutely. So if you're on Facebook, check out Jake Nelson and
he can get you in the, in the rotation probably to go shoot some stuff this
year. Are you doing any guiding for muskies yet or are you opening for muskies?
Yep. Yep. I don't, I mean, so basically a lot of people know John Carlson,
(05:56):
John Kolcheski and me, we do tons and tons of group trips throughout the summer.
And then I've got a clientele that I've had since, you know,
basically day one that just, you know, got a great group of guys and we kind
of, we kind of stay a little low on the radar and, and just have a great time. Right.
(06:18):
All right. Well, let's talk about it. I've heard the rumors on Facebook.
You know, we kind of addressed it slightly in the beginning there on Lake X lures.
What's the latest on Lake X? Because, you know, they've been,
I guess, hard to find, but I didn't seem to be overly concerned by it.
I didn't even think once that anybody would think that you guys were out of
business because, you know, you run the guide service, right?
(06:38):
And that's kind of what you guys do to fill the summertime.
And then you build fishing lures in the wintertime. and
then it seems like once may or whatever late may comes rolling
around you guys are back on the water and you know fishing lure
production kind of slows down until the following season so
like when i saw sold out everywhere i didn't
necessarily even question it at all what's going on with lake x we're working
(07:00):
we're we you know we're always working throughout the winter sometimes seven
days a week there's three of us basically it's very small business still you
know just Just trying to do as much as we can and still make a great product.
And we are getting baits out to retailers right now and hopefully a bunch more in the near future.
(07:23):
And, you know, let's talk a little bit about that, Jake. You said,
you know, you're still a small business and you guys hand tune,
hand touch these things, hand paint them.
I mean, they're not coming off an assembly line over in China.
So, like, let's talk a little bit about that.
Yeah, there's basically three people that touch every single one of them.
We still, to this day, hand tune every single one when they're done,
which is, if you can imagine, 2,000 baits sitting on a rack and tuning every
(07:47):
one of them, that takes some time.
So, but the good thing about that is the same three people make the baits and
hopefully you're going to get some really, really good consistency out of that.
Yes, absolutely. And it, you know, it seems like it doesn't,
you know, sometimes you get that bait and it's like, that one is the one, right?
But it seems like with, you know, Lake X lures, especially, I mean,
(08:10):
super popular fat bastard, they all sound the same, they all run.
And that's due to that tuning process that you're talking about.
Absolutely. And, and, you know, we put a, we put a ton of pride into building every one of them.
And, and, you know, there, there's been a lot of blood, sweat and tears through
the years, getting them done, getting them done in time for shows,
(08:30):
getting them out to dealers.
And, and honestly, we've, John and I have been guides forever,
and we don't want to let that part of our lives go.
Being out on the water makes us, you know, better in the shop.
It helps us build new things.
It helps us think about things. things that's kind of
uh our attitude towards it yeah and
you know the thing about all that is you know
(08:53):
like i said it's still a family ran business it's still
a very you know a personal thing for you guys but let's
talk about the early days of lake x i remember you know going to a show i was
at the show same as you guys were it was the one i think about is the minnesota
show john shows up he's got these these top water baits and at the time they
seemed quite a bit bigger especially when you got to like the cannonball junior
(09:15):
and the cannonball cannonball seemed ridiculous at the time.
And he's offering up a hundred pack of these, a four pack of these things for a hundred bucks.
Like at that point, did any of you guys ever think that the lake X craze would
get to where it was in say, I don't know. What was that?
2016, 2017, 2018 is the area.
(09:36):
No, no, we were just fishermen. That was, it was nuts. And you know, I think that,
you know, social media did a lot of that was kind of the beginning of those days.
Really got rocking. Yeah. I mean, it was, it was incredible.
Like I said, the first time I saw cannonballs, like, you know,
I'm sure you guys got some unbelievable comments on it, you know,
(09:56):
like, ah, nothing's ever going to eat that.
You know, why are you guys throwing footballs? I'm sure there was just a bunch
of different thought processes behind it.
Yep. Yeah. And lo and behold, look at all the people in Minnesota throwing those things these days.
And we still don't, we still don't make a ton of them, but it's a,
It's kind of a vicious little animal when, when the crazy top water bite happened,
(10:18):
you know, throughout July and August. Yeah.
Well, the thing about it is, is like your average angler is not throwing that
thing. I don't feel. No, no.
But honestly, it, you know, with today's equipment, it's not that hard to throw big stuff.
Oh no, for sure. I mean, whatever rod and, you know, real combination you're
(10:38):
using to throw a big rubber, I'm sure you could throw a cannonball. No problem.
Yep. yep yeah i'd be willing to bet it comes in a
lot easier than a pound or two yes sir yep it
stays on top all right we're talking about the biggest bait
in the lineup let's talk a little bit about the smallest bait in the lineup because
you are the one that tells me all the time about the little b little bastard
(10:58):
and i think it's b-a-s-s and that is because it's a multi-species bait but a
lot of musky anglers i think overlook it for big fish and you've caught an awful
lot of big fish what What is it about the little bee you like so much?
Well, I mean, we spent probably two years getting it going, and it wasn't a
very fun bait to get it perfect.
(11:19):
But the testing on it, when we finally got it rolling, it was made for bass.
And, I mean, it's amazing what the bass do when they eat it.
It's kind of like a muskie eating a cannonball. They just annihilate it.
But in the meantime, we started catching muskies on it, and it was incredible.
Edible they just come up suck it down and they're
(11:41):
all over it it's kind of like a you know the small bucktail bite
it's kind of the same thing you know in like
let's just say let's talk about speed of retrieval are you retrieving this thing
faster for muskies or pretty much uh you know like a moderate retrieve oh just
a very steady retrieve you could slow them down too at night but you know just
a medium retrieve on it just get that nice pop going and you can have obviously
(12:04):
like like our other baits,
you can put a split ring on it and make it a ticker. And.
Uh muskies have been all over that i had the first
prototype that i had in my boat just
one bait caught 28 muskies in one summer it's not
a bad summer i mean that's a lot more than
most people are catching on all their baits yeah and you just it's it's awesome
(12:25):
i mean i'm i'm an elk river guy and and we have a 7.9 hybrid x heavy it's like
a it's like a you know big bat big Big bass type rod slash small bait, small musky bait rod.
And it's awesome. I mean, people in the boat, they love throwing it because
it's so, you know, you don't kill yourself all day throwing big stuff.
(12:48):
I think if I get on the stick over here, I actually have that bait that we'll
be adding on our web or that rod on our website here any, any day now.
I mean, I, I always have two, sometimes three of those rods in the boat.
Cause you know, especially after long day, I throw them big stuff.
They like to throw a small topwater.
Well, we'll transition over to the Elk River stuff because I know you're heavily
(13:09):
involved in that as well, but let's finish up our talk about the little bee.
As far as leader material, will that change the performance of it?
Can I pretty much throw this on?
If I have an eight-foot heavy musky rod, can I use that as well?
Let's talk a little bit about that. you can use it
we like to use like a you know a small six
(13:30):
inch leader and bring it
back to the boat you know try to keep some of your line out of the water you'll
just mess with your rod angle a little bit and you'll be able to tell where
your sound is i've always been told that and i can't say that i play with it
that much i've quite honestly i have so much success with the fat b that it
or yeah the fat b that i'm i don't go back to the little b that often but But yeah,
(13:54):
and don't be afraid to throw it in the spring.
That's a great spring raid. You know, Dr. Evil is too.
You know, we have lots of flowage type stuff around here and rivers and,
and it just, it literally catches everything.
You know, one quick question on Lake X stuff. So you have the little B,
the Dr. Evil, the fat B, Cannonball Jr. and Cannonball.
(14:15):
Like, is there a time and place that like, is there, is there certain conditions
you're looking for where you're going to throw one over the other?
Like, what's your thought process on that? Because obviously you have access to all of them.
So I'm sure you have some of them in your boat at all times.
Like, how do you decide which day you're picking up a cannonball junior over a fat B?
If I see aggressiveness in any type of fish, then we're putting big stuff on.
(14:35):
Cause then you're, you know, you have that, you have that chance of getting a big one going.
All right. And you know, if they're lazy follows on a cannonball junior or a
fat bastard down, keep downsizing or start throwing rubber.
We make a lot of that too. Yes, you do, which we didn't talk about,
but you know, the toad is a, I don't want to call it a staple yet,
(14:56):
but it's, it's actually kind of like.
Underutilized tool, I would imagine. Let's talk about it for a minute.
We don't have any in stock right now, or very few, but we will be getting some,
I'm assuming, at some point.
But how do people work this?
So it's not, I mean, you're not ripping rubber with this thing.
It's more of a soft-popping pull on it.
(15:21):
You imagine a steering wheel, you want to pull from 10 to 2.
So you're pulling it from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock.
So it's more of an up hopping motion. And honestly, you get tired throwing it,
you're working too hard.
All right. That's fair. So it's not like, you know, a lot of guys,
they like to anglers, I should say, they like to, you know, rip bulldogs and
they'll make it, they'll make the pull from what, like nine to three,
(15:44):
you know, pretty, pretty long, aggressive pulls.
This is not long, aggressive pulls.
No, no. And it's super, you know, don't, don't wear yourself out.
You're working too hard.
So that and then you know ice guys
put some weight on it let her let her go
let her go down there get down on their faces a little bit well
(16:05):
lots of cool tools from lake x lures
it's good to hear that you guys will have retailers uploaded
again so you know people people have their
favorite baits for this this upcoming season for places
they have seasons otherwise um you know we do do have
a handful of lakex lures online right now we
have we've gotten some top waters from you guys in the last two weeks
(16:25):
so we're not completely empty so if you're looking for a
few top water baits right now we have them hopefully you know if things work
out well we'll have some custom colors getting restocked at some point yet this
spring but all right jake moving on let's talk a little bit about elk river
you know i i would say that's it's a common name for many musky anglers but not,
(16:48):
it's not a household name. It's not St.
Croix, right? And let's talk a little bit about what makes Elk River special.
Elk River has been in business for 16 years now, I believe, and I've been with them for 12.
And, you know, Elk River is kind of a, you know, a very similar story to Lake
X where Mark Maloney is the owner and he is, he's brilliant.
(17:13):
He's, he's a great great rod builder and other things that people don't know about.
And, you know, same, same type of deal. Three people touch the rods.
And if you got a problem with it, he built it and he's going to make it right.
Yeah, that's awesome. It's in, you know, they're all, everything's built up
there again in the Northwoods, Wisconsin.
(17:33):
Yeah. Yeah. It's kind of, kind of neat. We have, we have Elk River,
we have Lake X here, we have Ross's Sport Shop and, and all kinds of cool stuff. So, yeah.
And with, you know, with the Elk River stuff, obviously you could,
you know, we're starting to get some of them on online here,
but you can also stop into the store up there in Phillips, right? Yeah, for sure.
(17:53):
Yep. We're right, right on highway 13 as you're just getting out of,
out of town on the North end of it.
And you open Tuesday through Saturday, I believe are the hours right now.
So, but yeah, I mean, we're really pumped to have you guys on board and it's
just a, it's just a great rod company with, you know, really good people all around it.
(18:17):
So right you know if you
if you know people aren't familiar with elk river
not only do you do muskie rods but you guys have
rods of for every species absolutely yep
there's a there's a three different lines of
mostly walleye and and panfish
there's there's some bad stuff but it's kind
(18:39):
of our it's our bread and butter they're they're they've really taken off
here in the last seven or eight years and kind
of go all over the place now so it's pretty neat well
it sounds like at the recent wisconsin muskie expo you guys had no
troubles moving a bunch of rods so it's great to see the support for
you know small wisconsin-based companies as well
yeah and it's you know it's it's so neat to
(19:00):
see it because the early days we'd go to you know like
the chicago muskie show or some of the other big multi-species shows
and and just you know trying to
just show people the rod to get it in their hands and now you know
10 years later it's pretty neat what's people have
been using them and and they've got such a good reputation that it's not very
hard to move them anymore right well let's talk a little bit about the musky
(19:24):
rod lineup i know you guys have a few different styles out there like what should
what's a good all-around musky rod you know in the in the elk river lineup.
I would say the 8'6 heavy is kind of our go-to.
I'd say that's, you know, 75% of the muskie fishermen, they have one of them
in their boat or more than that.
(19:45):
If you like a longer rod, then it'd be the 9' heavy. So that'd be your go-to all-around rods.
And then we also have, you know, all the other niche type stuff too.
Sure. You know, like, you know, you were talking about throwing toads.
Like would be the 8'6 heavy, would that be a good one for throwing like the regular size toad?
Yep. For sure. That's a great rod for that. Yep.
(20:08):
And then obviously you, you mentioned what you, you know, you were throwing little bees on.
So we'll have that one on our website as well. I believe the eight foot six
heavy is one that I will as well.
And this one's going to come out tomorrow morning. It's Sunday again.
And so, you know, I won't have these probably uploaded by that time,
but soon we've been working on it.
We got a lot of products in the, in the, you know, the store at the same time.
(20:29):
So we're, we're working through all that and the elk
river stuff is high on my my priority list to make sure
that it's available to consumers here real soon and i mean right
as of right now we just have the trolling rods listed which you know
let's talk about those if you're into trolling that's a great it looks like
a phenomenal rod it it is it's a
it's a glass hybrid rod and
(20:50):
i mean it if you want to pull a board with
a headlock on it no problem if you want to use it
as a sucker rod in the fall don't be afraid to
put the screws to it in november it is just it's
bulletproof it's it's super fun to have
in the boat for sure yeah and you know with
that like you said that hybrid rod um you know you're not having
to worry about it exploding in your hands on the hook set in the in the cold
(21:13):
weather of fall yes and that and it's got a very soft tip on it so not only
can you tell how your your cranks are running but in the fall with suckers if
you hit if you had one little piece of weed on it you can tell by the way that rod is moving.
It's incredible. Yeah. I, I mean, I love playing around with different rods.
(21:35):
I, yeah, I know I'm going to have a few of them in my boat at some point here
this, this season as well.
I, I'm, I'm always, I always like playing with new toys we get in the shop.
I think it's one of my weaknesses, right?
It's like kryptonite, you know, I'm always enticed by new stuff and it's,
I just like playing around with it.
Plus, you know, when, you know, customers, they ask me, you know,
(21:55):
what I think about this or what I think about that. It's always good to have,
you know, hands, I have had my hands on it.
I can tell you exactly what I think of it versus me going like,
oh, well, I've heard this about it.
You know, I can give you my honest feedback on it. Absolutely. For sure.
Yeah. So we have, we have a seven, six jerkbait rod.
And so that's, we still like to make that shorter rod, you know,
(22:18):
for me fishing a lot of the flowogy type stuff and doing a lot of sight fishing
and two feet of water. I like having that short rod still.
We have a 7-11. That's another rod I would consider more of a jerkbait rod,
but you can use it for basically everything.
And the 8-6 we talked about, and then the 9-footer, heavy, extra heavy.
And then we also have the telescopics, which have really been a big deal here
(22:44):
in the last, you know, four to five years.
And it seems like they're, you know, for a while, they're all telescopic rods
people were having problems with. And I feel like we have something now that, that is pretty awesome.
You can throw it right in your truck if you're going to go fish with your friend.
And, you know, I fished a, you know, a zillion hours on them and I absolutely love them.
(23:05):
So, well, you know, the other thing too about telescopic rods is everybody,
you know, a lot in the beginning, people weren't, they were like,
I don't know if I like that.
But nowadays, if you're living outside of the speedy zone, whether it be,
you know, speedy zone is Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa,
and then there's a few patchy spots in between there.
If you live outside of there, you can't get a one piece rod shipped to you for a reasonable price.
(23:30):
I mean, like a one piece rod to that's over eight feet to let's just say Pennsylvania is $140.
You know, that's just incredible how expensive shipping of the rods has gotten.
And so therefore, you know, anglers have had to adapt to that telescopic rod
because like that's what they can get for a reasonable price.
Nobody, I mean, I shouldn't say nobody, very few people want to pay $140 additional
(23:51):
on top of a rod to get it shipped for a one piece rod.
Most of them are like, yeah, I think I can handle the telescopic.
And they've come a long ways in the last handful of years, like you had mentioned.
Yeah. And that's a real, that's shipping part. That's a sad deal because of
course we want people to have 10 footers and nine sixes and you know,
everybody wants a 10 footer or lots of people want a 10 foot rod,
(24:14):
but that's, unless you're going to drive from Pennsylvania to team Rhino or elk river,
that's kind of out of the option, out of the question. Yeah.
Well, I was going to ask you that. I mean, is that, is that a trend that you
are, you know, we hear about it all the time, longer rods, longer rods, longer rods.
But when I go to shows, like I try to talk to customers, they're like,
oh, which rod do you think you'd recommend?
(24:34):
And a lot of times I'm using stuff that's eight, six, nine foot, nine, six, even.
And, you know, they're like, nope, that's too, that's too long.
I don't want to do that. I'm still looking at eight, you know,
eight foot and under type rods.
So like we hear a lot about long rods, but is that still the trend?
I mean, are, are many anglers choosing the longest rod in a lot of instances
(24:54):
or, or are you still selling a lot of stuff that's, you know,
in that eight foot range?
Eight, six, all eight, six is like the king for us.
I, you know, you go to a different state, it's a little bit different.
You know, Minnesota, they like to have longer rod for a lot of their stuff.
You know, it all kinds of kind of depends on the areas that you're in.
If that makes sense. yeah i mean
(25:17):
and i was wondering about that if it was more geographical you
know state by state type of thing you know the minnesota anglers
there's but i think it's also kind of a part of what they throw too i mean i've
done reports before on when we go to a show in in an area minnesota's one particular
i mean i look in that stuff and i go they're heavy heavy into big rubber and
(25:40):
and blades So for, you know, longer rods,
I would imagine it's, it probably lends itself right into that perfect for throwing,
you know, blades and big rubber.
Whereas like you go to Wisconsin and, you know, we're not, yeah,
we throw a lot of rubber and we throw a lot of blades, but we also throw a lot of topwaters.
We also throw a lot of jerk baits. So there's, you know, I think some of it's
based off of what the angler is using as far as the baits are concerned too.
(26:02):
And that's probably why they lean towards longer rods in Minnesota. Yeah.
Yeah, I, I agree with you. And they, you know, they've got such big water that,
you know, you're going down a weed, a weed line for a mile and it,
it's not as much pinpoint casting with that.
They're just trying to bomb cast a lot of stuff and it's, it's sometimes it's
(26:23):
easier to fish rod and a bigger boat.
Yeah, exactly. The bigger boat things, probably one of them as well.
I mean, we don't, you know, we do a big water in Wisconsin, but for the most
part, if you had a, you know, a 16 foot deep V aluminum boat,
you can handle it on a lot of the water that we have here in Wisconsin.
Obviously you'd have to really watch your, uh, the weather. If you're taking
(26:46):
that on the green Bay, I've taken mine.
I have, you know, a eight, six Lund Fury XL.
And there's times I just don't want to take out my toughy out to green Bay is
like, everything's loaded in the Lund already.
I'm like, I'm going to just take that. And I mean, you can do it.
You just got to pay attention to what you're doing there you do like if the
wind shifts or things start looking crappy you better bail fast absolutely yep
(27:07):
yep i got the i have a 619 ranger.
And i think i have more fun fishing in my uh
16 foot flat bottom well that's
like you know early days i i shouldn't shouldn't
say even say early days like i had a ranger 619 as well and
i used used to do that but then all right before i
i sold it i had because some of
(27:28):
the landings i was fishing up in northern wisconsin i couldn't get
that boat into it it was just the landings were too crappy and
so i had a god what was that like a 15 foot
toughy it's like a esox magnum
but it wasn't the magnum and it was a roustabout or whatever the heck
it was and i'm like i put more fish in that boat than i
do my 619 like why do i even have the 619 around i'm playing around in this
(27:49):
thing all the time just on smaller bodies of water and i didn't care what i
took it into i beat the crap out of it because it didn't matter to me i wasn't
worried about it rivers and all sorts of stuff you just let her chew and see
what happens absolutely we got so much gravel that,
right taking the flat bottom down the gravel road doesn't hurt as much as glass.
(28:11):
Absolutely all right jake well i think we covered most of
what we intended to cover tonight we got got a good background on
on lake x and what they're up to introduction into elk
river rods you know once again for people that
are looking to get in touch with you watch cover i mean it does i'm assuming
lake x is still putting stuff out on social and elk river's got social media
(28:32):
as well and then do you have any social media for your flambeau forest outfitters
yep i've got a facebook page flambeau forest outfitters and and then elk river's
got elk Booker for Custom Rods, their website there. And...
The best way to get a hold of me is Facebook Messenger, or my phone number is 715-820-3156.
(28:55):
Awesome. Well, Jake, I want to thank you for taking time out of your Sunday afternoon.
I know you unfortunately watched Iowa girls lose today, and it was disappointing.
I know. I feel for the people of Iowa. My life will continue on.
But anyways, fun game, fun season to watch.
I mean, the incredible talent on both sides of the court today.
(29:16):
But I want to thank you for taking time out of your Sunday to talk fishing with
me. And I hope that you have yourself a unbelievable season.
I'm sure we'll be in touch. And I want to thank our listeners again for tuning
in to another episode of our podcast.
And we'll be out with a new one again next week, Monday.
Awesome. Yeah, you guys, I appreciate it. And have a good season also. Thanks, Jake.
(29:41):
Music.
Music.
(00:05):
Welcome to Muskie Talk Monday on Team Rhino Outdoors Muskie Fishing Podcast.
This week I'm going to talk to Jake Nelson, Flambeau Forest Outfitters, Lake X, Elk River.
He's a man of many hats. He's involved with all those things and we're going
to learn a little bit about all of it this week.
Talk a little bit, I mean, the update on Lake X is, you know,
people are wondering what's going on with them and are they still in business and things like that.
(00:29):
And we'll answer all those questions on this episode. So, and then,
uh, we're, you know, we're going to go down the elk river thing because elk
river is a new, they're not new rod company. They're a new rod company to us.
And they've been around for a while. You know, we, we had some,
we carried some of their stuff or listed some of their stuff on our website,
probably, I don't know, four or five years ago.
(00:50):
And they're back, you know, and for good reason, they're, they're great rods, another great option.
And we're, we're looking to add more and more of that stuff.
As we move forward we're looking to be your one-stop
muskie fishing destination for all the
gear that you need to catch muskies and at this point though we still understand
we have work to do so you know putting on our tool belt and which i i know i'm
(01:12):
familiar with the tool belt and so we're putting on a tool belt we're getting
to work and you know we won't stop until we are that one-stop muskie fishing
destination so that's kind of what's.
On tap for this week's Muskie episode, just talking gear. That's what we do on this podcast.
I've said it before. If you're looking for to break down new water and talk
(01:34):
to the latest and greatest guides and what's going on in the water,
we'll talk that on Backlash Podcast,
which I do with my friends Brad and Kerry from Muskie Mayhem Tackle.
And we do that one every single Wednesday.
And you can find it on all these same platforms that you find this podcast.
And you know but moving forward this summer i mean
i certainly plan to continue to put out episodes of this podcast and
(01:54):
what we'll do is we'll talk about what's working on the water what baits are
working but it's still going to be revolving mostly around gear we'll
talk to you know the guides on on gear wise what's
working i won't necessarily break down you know which weed beds or how
deep they are or whatever we'll just talk about you know what's putting
fish in the net and then so that's kind of how that's going to roll
moving forward i hope to make this a continual thing i
(02:15):
don't even know i think this is probably week six seven that
i put a podcast out in a row which i've never done before on this podcast
so it's the exciting times for the team rhino
outdoors musky fishing podcast you know if you like us
tell a friend you know let people know that this is
something that we're doing just a little bit different shorter episodes
you know most episodes are somewhere between 20 minutes and 40
(02:36):
minutes so if you're you know doing a quick workout you
know pop one of these episodes on and and listen to it
during your your uh weekly workout or your daily
workout or however you want to go about doing that and it
again you know if you're looking for gear for your next muskie
fishing adventure make sure you check out team rhino outdoors.com we
you know i talked about earlier we're continuing to push the boundaries as
(02:57):
far as how much inventory we've had and you know this it's springtime so we're
gearing up right i mean many seasons are just around the corner the southern
wisconsin season i think by the time you hear this is only only roughly three
weeks maybe four weeks at the most out and so you know it's coming quick april is the.
Last month you have to try to put those final touches on your boats and your
(03:18):
gear and make sure that things are in tip-top shape before we get cranking.
So it's pretty cool, exciting times for musky anglers as everybody looks forward to a new season.
But anyways, I'm going to go dial up my conversation I just had with Jake Nelson.
My guest this week is Jake Nelson, Flambeau Forest Outfitters and Lake X Lures.
(03:41):
I know jake isn't necessarily like the
owner of lake x but uh jake you're
very instrumental in what comes out
of the lake x shop these days from what i understand and thank you for coming
on today hi jeff and yeah thank you very much we we do as much as we can yeah
well i mean obviously we all know like your lake x is a small business family
(04:06):
ran business friend ran business essentially because I'm assuming that you're not related to John,
but you're, you know, involved in his operation.
And, you know, like sometimes priorities change and things shift a little bit.
So, you know, I just want to have you on. First of all, we'll talk a little bit about Lake X today.
We'll talk a little bit about Elk River because you're involved in that as well.
(04:26):
But first, Jake, before we go down any of those roads, let's talk a little bit
about Flambeau Forest Outfitters. Why don't you give us a quick,
you know, introduction to that?
Because not only are you into muskies, but you're also into some hunting stuff too.
Yeah, I've had Flambeau Forest Outfitters since 2003 and basically started muskie
fishing with or started out guiding muskies and then got into bear hunting.
(04:50):
We don't really do a whole lot of that anymore, but one of our bigger things
is upland bird hunting too.
So it's kind of in the area that we live in it's just it's a you know we're
in the grouse capital of the world
here and and people from all over the world and and all over the U.S.
Come to hunt and if people are listening to this podcast and they're into hunting
(05:13):
well how do they go about getting in touch with you or learning more about what you have to offer.
I guess the best way to get ahold of me is on Facebook messenger or a lot of
people just text me, which I'll give you my phone number later,
but we're in the middle of nowhere here.
So cell service is terrible and it's hard to get back to people right away.
(05:34):
And, and that's kind of the way it goes, I guess, living in the North.
Sure. Yeah, absolutely. So if you're on Facebook, check out Jake Nelson and
he can get you in the, in the rotation probably to go shoot some stuff this
year. Are you doing any guiding for muskies yet or are you opening for muskies?
Yep. Yep. I don't, I mean, so basically a lot of people know John Carlson,
(05:56):
John Kolcheski and me, we do tons and tons of group trips throughout the summer.
And then I've got a clientele that I've had since, you know,
basically day one that just, you know, got a great group of guys and we kind
of, we kind of stay a little low on the radar and, and just have a great time. Right.
(06:18):
All right. Well, let's talk about it. I've heard the rumors on Facebook.
You know, we kind of addressed it slightly in the beginning there on Lake X lures.
What's the latest on Lake X? Because, you know, they've been,
I guess, hard to find, but I didn't seem to be overly concerned by it.
I didn't even think once that anybody would think that you guys were out of
business because, you know, you run the guide service, right?
(06:38):
And that's kind of what you guys do to fill the summertime.
And then you build fishing lures in the wintertime. and
then it seems like once may or whatever late may comes rolling
around you guys are back on the water and you know fishing lure
production kind of slows down until the following season so
like when i saw sold out everywhere i didn't
necessarily even question it at all what's going on with lake x we're working
(07:00):
we're we you know we're always working throughout the winter sometimes seven
days a week there's three of us basically it's very small business still you
know just Just trying to do as much as we can and still make a great product.
And we are getting baits out to retailers right now and hopefully a bunch more in the near future.
(07:23):
And, you know, let's talk a little bit about that, Jake. You said,
you know, you're still a small business and you guys hand tune,
hand touch these things, hand paint them.
I mean, they're not coming off an assembly line over in China.
So, like, let's talk a little bit about that.
Yeah, there's basically three people that touch every single one of them.
We still, to this day, hand tune every single one when they're done,
which is, if you can imagine, 2,000 baits sitting on a rack and tuning every
(07:47):
one of them, that takes some time.
So, but the good thing about that is the same three people make the baits and
hopefully you're going to get some really, really good consistency out of that.
Yes, absolutely. And it, you know, it seems like it doesn't,
you know, sometimes you get that bait and it's like, that one is the one, right?
But it seems like with, you know, Lake X lures, especially, I mean,
(08:10):
super popular fat bastard, they all sound the same, they all run.
And that's due to that tuning process that you're talking about.
Absolutely. And, and, you know, we put a, we put a ton of pride into building every one of them.
And, and, you know, there, there's been a lot of blood, sweat and tears through
the years, getting them done, getting them done in time for shows,
(08:30):
getting them out to dealers.
And, and honestly, we've, John and I have been guides forever,
and we don't want to let that part of our lives go.
Being out on the water makes us, you know, better in the shop.
It helps us build new things.
It helps us think about things. things that's kind of
uh our attitude towards it yeah and
you know the thing about all that is you know
(08:53):
like i said it's still a family ran business it's still
a very you know a personal thing for you guys but let's
talk about the early days of lake x i remember you know going to a show i was
at the show same as you guys were it was the one i think about is the minnesota
show john shows up he's got these these top water baits and at the time they
seemed quite a bit bigger especially when you got to like the cannonball junior
(09:15):
and the cannonball cannonball seemed ridiculous at the time.
And he's offering up a hundred pack of these, a four pack of these things for a hundred bucks.
Like at that point, did any of you guys ever think that the lake X craze would
get to where it was in say, I don't know. What was that?
2016, 2017, 2018 is the area.
(09:36):
No, no, we were just fishermen. That was, it was nuts. And you know, I think that,
you know, social media did a lot of that was kind of the beginning of those days.
Really got rocking. Yeah. I mean, it was, it was incredible.
Like I said, the first time I saw cannonballs, like, you know,
I'm sure you guys got some unbelievable comments on it, you know,
(09:56):
like, ah, nothing's ever going to eat that.
You know, why are you guys throwing footballs? I'm sure there was just a bunch
of different thought processes behind it.
Yep. Yeah. And lo and behold, look at all the people in Minnesota throwing those things these days.
And we still don't, we still don't make a ton of them, but it's a,
It's kind of a vicious little animal when, when the crazy top water bite happened,
(10:18):
you know, throughout July and August. Yeah.
Well, the thing about it is, is like your average angler is not throwing that
thing. I don't feel. No, no.
But honestly, it, you know, with today's equipment, it's not that hard to throw big stuff.
Oh no, for sure. I mean, whatever rod and, you know, real combination you're
(10:38):
using to throw a big rubber, I'm sure you could throw a cannonball. No problem.
Yep. yep yeah i'd be willing to bet it comes in a
lot easier than a pound or two yes sir yep it
stays on top all right we're talking about the biggest bait
in the lineup let's talk a little bit about the smallest bait in the lineup because
you are the one that tells me all the time about the little b little bastard
(10:58):
and i think it's b-a-s-s and that is because it's a multi-species bait but a
lot of musky anglers i think overlook it for big fish and you've caught an awful
lot of big fish what What is it about the little bee you like so much?
Well, I mean, we spent probably two years getting it going, and it wasn't a
very fun bait to get it perfect.
(11:19):
But the testing on it, when we finally got it rolling, it was made for bass.
And, I mean, it's amazing what the bass do when they eat it.
It's kind of like a muskie eating a cannonball. They just annihilate it.
But in the meantime, we started catching muskies on it, and it was incredible.
Edible they just come up suck it down and they're
(11:41):
all over it it's kind of like a you know the small bucktail bite
it's kind of the same thing you know in like
let's just say let's talk about speed of retrieval are you retrieving this thing
faster for muskies or pretty much uh you know like a moderate retrieve oh just
a very steady retrieve you could slow them down too at night but you know just
a medium retrieve on it just get that nice pop going and you can have obviously
(12:04):
like like our other baits,
you can put a split ring on it and make it a ticker. And.
Uh muskies have been all over that i had the first
prototype that i had in my boat just
one bait caught 28 muskies in one summer it's not
a bad summer i mean that's a lot more than
most people are catching on all their baits yeah and you just it's it's awesome
(12:25):
i mean i'm i'm an elk river guy and and we have a 7.9 hybrid x heavy it's like
a it's like a you know big bat big Big bass type rod slash small bait, small musky bait rod.
And it's awesome. I mean, people in the boat, they love throwing it because
it's so, you know, you don't kill yourself all day throwing big stuff.
(12:48):
I think if I get on the stick over here, I actually have that bait that we'll
be adding on our web or that rod on our website here any, any day now.
I mean, I, I always have two, sometimes three of those rods in the boat.
Cause you know, especially after long day, I throw them big stuff.
They like to throw a small topwater.
Well, we'll transition over to the Elk River stuff because I know you're heavily
(13:09):
involved in that as well, but let's finish up our talk about the little bee.
As far as leader material, will that change the performance of it?
Can I pretty much throw this on?
If I have an eight-foot heavy musky rod, can I use that as well?
Let's talk a little bit about that. you can use it
we like to use like a you know a small six
(13:30):
inch leader and bring it
back to the boat you know try to keep some of your line out of the water you'll
just mess with your rod angle a little bit and you'll be able to tell where
your sound is i've always been told that and i can't say that i play with it
that much i've quite honestly i have so much success with the fat b that it
or yeah the fat b that i'm i don't go back to the little b that often but But yeah,
(13:54):
and don't be afraid to throw it in the spring.
That's a great spring raid. You know, Dr. Evil is too.
You know, we have lots of flowage type stuff around here and rivers and,
and it just, it literally catches everything.
You know, one quick question on Lake X stuff. So you have the little B,
the Dr. Evil, the fat B, Cannonball Jr. and Cannonball.
(14:15):
Like, is there a time and place that like, is there, is there certain conditions
you're looking for where you're going to throw one over the other?
Like, what's your thought process on that? Because obviously you have access to all of them.
So I'm sure you have some of them in your boat at all times.
Like, how do you decide which day you're picking up a cannonball junior over a fat B?
If I see aggressiveness in any type of fish, then we're putting big stuff on.
(14:35):
Cause then you're, you know, you have that, you have that chance of getting a big one going.
All right. And you know, if they're lazy follows on a cannonball junior or a
fat bastard down, keep downsizing or start throwing rubber.
We make a lot of that too. Yes, you do, which we didn't talk about,
but you know, the toad is a, I don't want to call it a staple yet,
(14:56):
but it's, it's actually kind of like.
Underutilized tool, I would imagine. Let's talk about it for a minute.
We don't have any in stock right now, or very few, but we will be getting some,
I'm assuming, at some point.
But how do people work this?
So it's not, I mean, you're not ripping rubber with this thing.
It's more of a soft-popping pull on it.
(15:21):
You imagine a steering wheel, you want to pull from 10 to 2.
So you're pulling it from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock.
So it's more of an up hopping motion. And honestly, you get tired throwing it,
you're working too hard.
All right. That's fair. So it's not like, you know, a lot of guys,
they like to anglers, I should say, they like to, you know, rip bulldogs and
they'll make it, they'll make the pull from what, like nine to three,
(15:44):
you know, pretty, pretty long, aggressive pulls.
This is not long, aggressive pulls.
No, no. And it's super, you know, don't, don't wear yourself out.
You're working too hard.
So that and then you know ice guys
put some weight on it let her let her go
let her go down there get down on their faces a little bit well
(16:05):
lots of cool tools from lake x lures
it's good to hear that you guys will have retailers uploaded
again so you know people people have their
favorite baits for this this upcoming season for places
they have seasons otherwise um you know we do do have
a handful of lakex lures online right now we
have we've gotten some top waters from you guys in the last two weeks
(16:25):
so we're not completely empty so if you're looking for a
few top water baits right now we have them hopefully you know if things work
out well we'll have some custom colors getting restocked at some point yet this
spring but all right jake moving on let's talk a little bit about elk river
you know i i would say that's it's a common name for many musky anglers but not,
(16:48):
it's not a household name. It's not St.
Croix, right? And let's talk a little bit about what makes Elk River special.
Elk River has been in business for 16 years now, I believe, and I've been with them for 12.
And, you know, Elk River is kind of a, you know, a very similar story to Lake
X where Mark Maloney is the owner and he is, he's brilliant.
(17:13):
He's, he's a great great rod builder and other things that people don't know about.
And, you know, same, same type of deal. Three people touch the rods.
And if you got a problem with it, he built it and he's going to make it right.
Yeah, that's awesome. It's in, you know, they're all, everything's built up
there again in the Northwoods, Wisconsin.
(17:33):
Yeah. Yeah. It's kind of, kind of neat. We have, we have Elk River,
we have Lake X here, we have Ross's Sport Shop and, and all kinds of cool stuff. So, yeah.
And with, you know, with the Elk River stuff, obviously you could,
you know, we're starting to get some of them on online here,
but you can also stop into the store up there in Phillips, right? Yeah, for sure.
(17:53):
Yep. We're right, right on highway 13 as you're just getting out of,
out of town on the North end of it.
And you open Tuesday through Saturday, I believe are the hours right now.
So, but yeah, I mean, we're really pumped to have you guys on board and it's
just a, it's just a great rod company with, you know, really good people all around it.
(18:17):
So right you know if you
if you know people aren't familiar with elk river
not only do you do muskie rods but you guys have
rods of for every species absolutely yep
there's a there's a three different lines of
mostly walleye and and panfish
there's there's some bad stuff but it's kind
(18:39):
of our it's our bread and butter they're they're they've really taken off
here in the last seven or eight years and kind
of go all over the place now so it's pretty neat well
it sounds like at the recent wisconsin muskie expo you guys had no
troubles moving a bunch of rods so it's great to see the support for
you know small wisconsin-based companies as well
yeah and it's you know it's it's so neat to
(19:00):
see it because the early days we'd go to you know like
the chicago muskie show or some of the other big multi-species shows
and and just you know trying to
just show people the rod to get it in their hands and now you know
10 years later it's pretty neat what's people have
been using them and and they've got such a good reputation that it's not very
hard to move them anymore right well let's talk a little bit about the musky
(19:24):
rod lineup i know you guys have a few different styles out there like what should
what's a good all-around musky rod you know in the in the elk river lineup.
I would say the 8'6 heavy is kind of our go-to.
I'd say that's, you know, 75% of the muskie fishermen, they have one of them
in their boat or more than that.
(19:45):
If you like a longer rod, then it'd be the 9' heavy. So that'd be your go-to all-around rods.
And then we also have, you know, all the other niche type stuff too.
Sure. You know, like, you know, you were talking about throwing toads.
Like would be the 8'6 heavy, would that be a good one for throwing like the regular size toad?
Yep. For sure. That's a great rod for that. Yep.
(20:08):
And then obviously you, you mentioned what you, you know, you were throwing little bees on.
So we'll have that one on our website as well. I believe the eight foot six
heavy is one that I will as well.
And this one's going to come out tomorrow morning. It's Sunday again.
And so, you know, I won't have these probably uploaded by that time,
but soon we've been working on it.
We got a lot of products in the, in the, you know, the store at the same time.
(20:29):
So we're, we're working through all that and the elk
river stuff is high on my my priority list to make sure
that it's available to consumers here real soon and i mean right
as of right now we just have the trolling rods listed which you know
let's talk about those if you're into trolling that's a great it looks like
a phenomenal rod it it is it's a
it's a glass hybrid rod and
(20:50):
i mean it if you want to pull a board with
a headlock on it no problem if you want to use it
as a sucker rod in the fall don't be afraid to
put the screws to it in november it is just it's
bulletproof it's it's super fun to have
in the boat for sure yeah and you know with
that like you said that hybrid rod um you know you're not having
to worry about it exploding in your hands on the hook set in the in the cold
(21:13):
weather of fall yes and that and it's got a very soft tip on it so not only
can you tell how your your cranks are running but in the fall with suckers if
you hit if you had one little piece of weed on it you can tell by the way that rod is moving.
It's incredible. Yeah. I, I mean, I love playing around with different rods.
(21:35):
I, yeah, I know I'm going to have a few of them in my boat at some point here
this, this season as well.
I, I'm, I'm always, I always like playing with new toys we get in the shop.
I think it's one of my weaknesses, right?
It's like kryptonite, you know, I'm always enticed by new stuff and it's,
I just like playing around with it.
Plus, you know, when, you know, customers, they ask me, you know,
(21:55):
what I think about this or what I think about that. It's always good to have,
you know, hands, I have had my hands on it.
I can tell you exactly what I think of it versus me going like,
oh, well, I've heard this about it.
You know, I can give you my honest feedback on it. Absolutely. For sure.
Yeah. So we have, we have a seven, six jerkbait rod.
And so that's, we still like to make that shorter rod, you know,
(22:18):
for me fishing a lot of the flowogy type stuff and doing a lot of sight fishing
and two feet of water. I like having that short rod still.
We have a 7-11. That's another rod I would consider more of a jerkbait rod,
but you can use it for basically everything.
And the 8-6 we talked about, and then the 9-footer, heavy, extra heavy.
And then we also have the telescopics, which have really been a big deal here
(22:44):
in the last, you know, four to five years.
And it seems like they're, you know, for a while, they're all telescopic rods
people were having problems with. And I feel like we have something now that, that is pretty awesome.
You can throw it right in your truck if you're going to go fish with your friend.
And, you know, I fished a, you know, a zillion hours on them and I absolutely love them.
(23:05):
So, well, you know, the other thing too about telescopic rods is everybody,
you know, a lot in the beginning, people weren't, they were like,
I don't know if I like that.
But nowadays, if you're living outside of the speedy zone, whether it be,
you know, speedy zone is Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa,
and then there's a few patchy spots in between there.
If you live outside of there, you can't get a one piece rod shipped to you for a reasonable price.
(23:30):
I mean, like a one piece rod to that's over eight feet to let's just say Pennsylvania is $140.
You know, that's just incredible how expensive shipping of the rods has gotten.
And so therefore, you know, anglers have had to adapt to that telescopic rod
because like that's what they can get for a reasonable price.
Nobody, I mean, I shouldn't say nobody, very few people want to pay $140 additional
(23:51):
on top of a rod to get it shipped for a one piece rod.
Most of them are like, yeah, I think I can handle the telescopic.
And they've come a long ways in the last handful of years, like you had mentioned.
Yeah. And that's a real, that's shipping part. That's a sad deal because of
course we want people to have 10 footers and nine sixes and you know,
everybody wants a 10 footer or lots of people want a 10 foot rod,
(24:14):
but that's, unless you're going to drive from Pennsylvania to team Rhino or elk river,
that's kind of out of the option, out of the question. Yeah.
Well, I was going to ask you that. I mean, is that, is that a trend that you
are, you know, we hear about it all the time, longer rods, longer rods, longer rods.
But when I go to shows, like I try to talk to customers, they're like,
oh, which rod do you think you'd recommend?
(24:34):
And a lot of times I'm using stuff that's eight, six, nine foot, nine, six, even.
And, you know, they're like, nope, that's too, that's too long.
I don't want to do that. I'm still looking at eight, you know,
eight foot and under type rods.
So like we hear a lot about long rods, but is that still the trend?
I mean, are, are many anglers choosing the longest rod in a lot of instances
(24:54):
or, or are you still selling a lot of stuff that's, you know,
in that eight foot range?
Eight, six, all eight, six is like the king for us.
I, you know, you go to a different state, it's a little bit different.
You know, Minnesota, they like to have longer rod for a lot of their stuff.
You know, it all kinds of kind of depends on the areas that you're in.
If that makes sense. yeah i mean
(25:17):
and i was wondering about that if it was more geographical you
know state by state type of thing you know the minnesota anglers
there's but i think it's also kind of a part of what they throw too i mean i've
done reports before on when we go to a show in in an area minnesota's one particular
i mean i look in that stuff and i go they're heavy heavy into big rubber and
(25:40):
and blades So for, you know, longer rods,
I would imagine it's, it probably lends itself right into that perfect for throwing,
you know, blades and big rubber.
Whereas like you go to Wisconsin and, you know, we're not, yeah,
we throw a lot of rubber and we throw a lot of blades, but we also throw a lot of topwaters.
We also throw a lot of jerk baits. So there's, you know, I think some of it's
based off of what the angler is using as far as the baits are concerned too.
(26:02):
And that's probably why they lean towards longer rods in Minnesota. Yeah.
Yeah, I, I agree with you. And they, you know, they've got such big water that,
you know, you're going down a weed, a weed line for a mile and it,
it's not as much pinpoint casting with that.
They're just trying to bomb cast a lot of stuff and it's, it's sometimes it's
(26:23):
easier to fish rod and a bigger boat.
Yeah, exactly. The bigger boat things, probably one of them as well.
I mean, we don't, you know, we do a big water in Wisconsin, but for the most
part, if you had a, you know, a 16 foot deep V aluminum boat,
you can handle it on a lot of the water that we have here in Wisconsin.
Obviously you'd have to really watch your, uh, the weather. If you're taking
(26:46):
that on the green Bay, I've taken mine.
I have, you know, a eight, six Lund Fury XL.
And there's times I just don't want to take out my toughy out to green Bay is
like, everything's loaded in the Lund already.
I'm like, I'm going to just take that. And I mean, you can do it.
You just got to pay attention to what you're doing there you do like if the
wind shifts or things start looking crappy you better bail fast absolutely yep
(27:07):
yep i got the i have a 619 ranger.
And i think i have more fun fishing in my uh
16 foot flat bottom well that's
like you know early days i i shouldn't shouldn't
say even say early days like i had a ranger 619 as well and
i used used to do that but then all right before i
i sold it i had because some of
(27:28):
the landings i was fishing up in northern wisconsin i couldn't get
that boat into it it was just the landings were too crappy and
so i had a god what was that like a 15 foot
toughy it's like a esox magnum
but it wasn't the magnum and it was a roustabout or whatever the heck
it was and i'm like i put more fish in that boat than i
do my 619 like why do i even have the 619 around i'm playing around in this
(27:49):
thing all the time just on smaller bodies of water and i didn't care what i
took it into i beat the crap out of it because it didn't matter to me i wasn't
worried about it rivers and all sorts of stuff you just let her chew and see
what happens absolutely we got so much gravel that,
right taking the flat bottom down the gravel road doesn't hurt as much as glass.
(28:11):
Absolutely all right jake well i think we covered most of
what we intended to cover tonight we got got a good background on
on lake x and what they're up to introduction into elk
river rods you know once again for people that
are looking to get in touch with you watch cover i mean it does i'm assuming
lake x is still putting stuff out on social and elk river's got social media
(28:32):
as well and then do you have any social media for your flambeau forest outfitters
yep i've got a facebook page flambeau forest outfitters and and then elk river's
got elk Booker for Custom Rods, their website there. And...
The best way to get a hold of me is Facebook Messenger, or my phone number is 715-820-3156.
(28:55):
Awesome. Well, Jake, I want to thank you for taking time out of your Sunday afternoon.
I know you unfortunately watched Iowa girls lose today, and it was disappointing.
I know. I feel for the people of Iowa. My life will continue on.
But anyways, fun game, fun season to watch.
I mean, the incredible talent on both sides of the court today.
(29:16):
But I want to thank you for taking time out of your Sunday to talk fishing with
me. And I hope that you have yourself a unbelievable season.
I'm sure we'll be in touch. And I want to thank our listeners again for tuning
in to another episode of our podcast.
And we'll be out with a new one again next week, Monday.
Awesome. Yeah, you guys, I appreciate it. And have a good season also. Thanks, Jake.
(29:41):
Music.
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